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Youngsters Copy Their Cycling Heroes

Britain’s cycling heroes have inspired record numbers of youngsters to get on their bikes.


WEBWIRE

Latest figures from British Cycling reveal the soaring involvement of youngsters in the sport as Halfords launches a lightweight road bike for 11-14 year olds, the Carrera Zelos Junior.

The national cycling body says over 17,000 youngsters made their first steps into competitive racing last year though the Go-Ride scheme which aims to encourage potential talent.

British Cycling said more people than ever are showing an interest in cycling, spurred on by the Tour de France triumphs of Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins and our Olympic gold medalists.

In the past four years the number of events laid on for young people keen to become involved in cycling has topped 400,000.

Karen Bellairs, Head of Cycles at Halfords said: “We are delighted that so many young people have been inspired by the incredible achievements of our champions and we have responded to this growing enthusiasm among the younger generation by launching the Carrera Zelos Junior Road Bike 2013. It is especially designed for aspiring cycle stars and is the ideal introduction to the world of road-riding for youngsters dreaming of one day winning the Tour De France.”

Weighing an impressive 10.9kg, the alloy frame is both strong and lightweight, enabling great power transfer to the road.

British Cycling’s President Brian Cookson said “Success on the world stage has without doubt inspired more people to get into recreational riding. There are more people entering events and doing personal challenge rides than ever before. Chris’s victory in this year’s TdF is keeping our sport very much in the national spotlight and long may that continue.”

Overall membership of British Cycling has surged by over 50% to 78,000 in the past 12 months with 11,000 being under 16 years. Plus 100 new clubs have been set up to bring the total in Great Britain to 1700.

Editor’s Notes
The Carrera Zelos Junior Road Bike is priced at £249.99. The Carrera Zelos Junior consists of a lightweight and strong 7005 alloy frame, Hi-Tensile Steel forks, Shimano 14 speed gearing, with STI shifters, Tektro dual pivot brakes and lightweight double wall alloy rims"
 
About Halfords
The Group is the UK’s leading retailer of automotive, leisure and cycling products and through Halfords Autocentres also one of the UK’s leading independent car servicing and repair operator. Halfords customers shop at more than 460 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at http://www.halfords.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from more than 280 sites nationally and offers motorists dealership-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices.

Halfords employs approximately 12,000 staff and sells around 10,000 product lines in stores, increasing to around 16,000 lines online. The product offering encompasses significant ranges in car parts, cycles, in-car technology, child seats, roof boxes, outdoor leisure and camping equipment.  Customers will find a large selection of Bikes at Halfords, both online and in store. Halfords own brands include the in-store Bikehut department, for cycles and cycling accessories, Apollo and Carrera cycles and exclusive UK distribution rights of the premium-ranged Boardman cycles and accessories.

In outdoor leisure, we sell a premium range of camping equipment, branded URBAN Escape. Halfords offers customers expert advice and a fitting service called “wefit” for car parts, child seats, satellite navigation and in-car entertainment systems, and a “werepair” service for cycles.



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